Tag: Christ

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How to Rejoice with Exceeding Great Joy (Matthew 2:1–12)

[Listen to an audio version here]

What empowers us to give gifts to others? I’m not talking here about the things we give out of fear, out of duty, or out of desire for response. I’m talking about that spontaneous giving that flows into other people’s needs and brings help and healing.

I think that Ralph Waldo Emerson had the idea in his helpful book, The Conduct of Life:

The first wealth is health. Sickness is poor-spirited, and cannot serve any one; it must husband its own resources to live. But health or fulness (sic) answers its own ends, and has to spare, runs over, and inundates the neighborhoods and creeks of other men’s necessities (972).

When we are unhealthy in body or spirit, we have very little that can flow over into others. When we are healthy in body or spirit, then we flow into others. So, our first priority is to get ourselves healthy and right.

But how do we do that? How do we find something that will cure our anxiety, our frustration, our despondency, our bitterness, our envy, and our lusts? How do we get ourselves on the right track in a way that will lead us to joyous giving?

We find the answer in what happened 2,000 years ago, when several wise men took the long trip from Babylon (modern day Iraq) to Jerusalem looking for a baby.

The Wise Men
Who were these wise men? Another name for them is Magi, but that doesn’t help that much. They were scholars. They were astronomers. As Charles Strohmer put it in his article on the star of Bethlehem, they “were learned in religion, diplomacy, literature, divination, esoteric wisdom, magical practices and the zodiac” (see his article here).

We find these “magi” already in the Bible in the book of Daniel. In Daniel 2:48, we read: “Then the king [of Babylon] placed Daniel in a high position and lavished many gifts on him. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and placed him in charge of all its wise men.” The wise men of Christmas were probably the intellectual heirs of Daniel’s wise men.

These wise men were looking for “the Messiah” as well. They were looking for the ruler who would come and reign over the world and bring in universal peace. We know this because we have a huge collection of the ancient documents of these wise men written in stone in what is called cuneiform writing. One scholar commented on these tablets that throughout these tablets we have statements like the following: “when this or that occurs, a great king will arise in the west; then justice and righteousness, peace and joy will rule in all lands and bless all nations” (cited in R.C.H. Lenski’s The Interpretation of Matthew,).

So, what caused these wise men to actually come looking for that king at this time? They saw a sign in the sky, a star in the west.

It’s almost impossible for us who have electric light to appreciate the significance of the lights in the night sky for people who lived before electric light. All societies looked to the stars. In Babylon, they made this one of their most important studies. When a unique phenomenon appeared in the sky, they would have stood up and taken notice. This “star” was so unique that they made the long journey from Babylon to Jerusalem, Israel, following the star and looking for the newborn King (if you have interest in the “star,” I would refer you to Charles Strohmer’s article linked above).

Herod
So, where do you go, if you are looking for a newborn King? You go to the palace of a king. That’s just where the Magi went. They came to King Herod who was reigning in Jerusalem.

When he heard what the Magi were saying, he was disturbed, and, note, “all of Jerusalem with him.” If Herod was troubled, this was bad news for everybody. Herod was called Herod the Great because he was such a great builder. Many of his buildings stand today, and you can go see them if you go to Israel. They are impressive. However, Herod was also ruthless, as the rest of this chapter reveals. It reminds us that Jesus was born into a world of real sin, real problems, and real people.

Herod was an Idumean, a descendant of Esau. However, Judas Maccabeus, whose family had fought and won Jewish independence from Greece, conquered the Idumeans. They forced them to adopt the Jewish religion. So, Herod followed the Jewish religion. Consequently, it is not surprising that when the Magi arrived, he had a group of Jewish religious scholars at his court. They would have advised him on a variety of issues.

They all knew that the Scriptures prophesied a coming King. The Scriptures even told where he was going to be born. 700 years before Jesus came, the prophet Micah wrote, “But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel” (Mt. 2:6).

And so it is to Bethlehem that the wise men went.

The Exceeding Great Joy
The wise men set out on their way. As they went, the star they had seen went ahead of them and led them to the place where Jesus was.

I want you to note that they were overjoyed when they saw the star. The original language uses four words to describe their joy. The old King James has captured it well: they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. They are ecstatic that they have found the star.

Why were they so overjoyed? Because they had a clear sign that the king that they had been looking for was coming.

But why did this give them such joy? We see this on a small level when a new coach, a new pastor, a new manager, a new president, or any other new leader comes to town. There is a hope and expectation that now things will be made right. Sometimes, they bring renewal and restoration. The new leader may be a Dan Mullen who brings the team to the SEC title game and competes. Or, he may be a Jeremy Pruitt who does, well, less. Either way, the new leader always disappoints in at least some ways because no leader can fulfill all our expectations for good.

King Jesus is different. This King is one who is going to make everything right. He is going to restore all that was lost. In the words of Dostoevsky, “something so precious will come to pass that it will suffice for all hearts, for the comforting of all resentments . . .” That’s what leads people to rejoice with exceeding great joy, even in the midst of all the humiliating absurdities of life. That’s what true joy is. It is the elation of spirit that arises from the firm expectation that all things will turn out well. This is the assurance our King brings. This is why the wise men rejoiced with exceeding great joy.

And what did that lead them to do? “On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh” (Mt. 2:11). It led them to give. They brought expensive gifts to the child and Mary and Joseph.

And that’s what joy does. It “runs over, and inundates the neighborhoods and creeks of other men’s necessities.” That’s what happens to us when we are rooted in faith in King Jesus that causes us to rejoice with exceeding great joy. We give.

Our text tells us the way to joy. We’ve got to “see” the star and “see” the King. We do this now not with the sight of the eyes but with the sight of faith. As Peter put it, “We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts” (2 Pet. 1:19).

That’s why I make it my goal each morning, whether for a long or short time, to meditate on the truth of the reign of King Jesus and the assurance that He is working all things together for my good and that not a hair can fall from my head without His will.

That’s the star that’s always shining for us. Each day, we can look up and see it. When we see it with the eyes of faith, it will cause us to rejoice with exceeding great joy. This joy will flow over in gifts to others. In this way, the reign of King Jesus will be evident in our lives and shine like a star that will lead others to Him. That’s what God is doing in the world. It is a foundation to enable us in all times, in every place, and in every circumstance to find a joy that can rejoice with exceeding great joy. It is a joy that can exist in a disappointing year and in a world with real sin, real problems, and real people. Amen.

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A Cause of Great Joy for All the People (Luke 2:8–20)

[Listen to an audio version here]

The Shepherds Encounter
About a month ago, my wife and I visited Georgia’s park at Stone Mountain. Besides climbing the mountain, we visited some of the tourist attractions. One of them was a 4D 12 minute presentation of the film The Polar Express. It was quite an experience.

One thing really struck me about the movie. We have the Hero Boy living his normal life. All of a sudden, something from beyond comes into the normalness of life. The magic of the world beyond has broken through. There, in the middle of the street, is a huge train, heading to the North Pole. Audiences give this movie a rare A+ and consider it a classic in part because it captures that magic of Christmas so well.

That movie captures something of what happened on Christmas night 2,000 years ago. The Polar Express is an imaginative, made up story. This story, the story of the angels and the shepherds and the Christ child, is real. It’s all true.

On a night like so many others, the shepherds were watching over their flocks. All of a sudden, an angel appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord filled the place. The angel said to them: “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.”

God created human beings to be a joyful people. Joy is our natural state. This joy was rooted in the fact that human beings would submit to their place under God, rejoice in His love for them, receive His gifts, and take their place among the human community.

However, we all know that this is not the way we find humans. Alienated from God, we find them anxious and wandering. Alienated from God, we find them frustrated and taking on the weight of the world. Alienated from God, we find them trying to find joy by escaping into a smaller world through addictions to drugs, work, sex, or people. Alienated from God, we find them alienated from one another. Alienated from God, we find them under His judgment and ultimately sentenced to death. So, joy escapes them. Joy escapes us.

But the angel announces great joy, mega-joy, to play off the word in the original language. Why? Because, “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.” The Savior has come. It is the eternal Son of God come to earth. He is bringing us back to great joy. He restores us to God by taking on human flesh, suffering on the cross, and rising from the dead having defeated death. He is the Messiah, the one God promised who would destroy all the works of the devil and bring everything back to what He intended. He is the Lord, the great King, who is bringing in a new reign of joy and peace in the lives of people. Well, then, did the angels sing to God: “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests” (Luke 2:14).

The Shepherds Tell
After the angels left them, the shepherds immediately went to see the Savior. “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about” (Luke 2:15). They said.

The angel told the shepherds that they would find the baby. “This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger” (Luke 2:12).

And, sure enough, it was just as the angel said. They found the baby. The sight of this baby Savior filled them with such great joy that they went and told everyone.

That’s what happens when we are filled with great joy. We want to share those good things. We are made for community, and we want to share our lives with others. That’s what the shepherd did. If we take in the great joy of Christmas deeply, that’s what will come out. When we find a great joy that transcends all our circumstances, we cannot but tell about it. This spreads the emotions of great joy. They are contagious!

I experienced this Sunday. Several folks from our church went Christmas caroling. We sang for those who have been watching our services from home. One of these families encouraged us to sing to their neighbors. One man came out as we sang. His ailing wife remained inside. As we sang, you could see he was deeply moved. Tears came to his eyes. His emotion brought tears to my eyes. I was moved by the wonder of the fact that we can spread the joy of Christmas by reaching out to those who are isolated and need a touch. This is something that I want to remember throughout the year and let the tears in the eyes of that man lead me to others who need the touch of Christmas joy throughout the year.

The Shepherds Remember
And that’s the key. To become people of great joy, it’s not enough simply to encounter the angel and the Christ child. We’ve got to actively remember what we experienced.

In the movie, The Polar Express, the Hero Boy recovers a bell from Santa’s sleigh. Santa gives it to him as the first gift of Christmas. However, he loses it because it goes through his pocket that the train had ripped at the beginning of the movie. He awakes on Christmas day to find the bell in his house. This is another confirmation of his supernatural experience. The key thing, though, is that he continues to listen to that bell throughout his life. That one experience and its reminder shapes his life and thinking for years to come to make him one who truly believes.

And that’s precisely what had to happen for the shepherds. They experienced a supernatural encounter that could change their lives forever. But they had to remember it. They had to keep it alive in their hearts and minds for it to become the story that changed their lives.

We get a hint of that from what it says about Mary. “But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered thhem in her heart” (Luke 2:19). Through her memories, she experienced them again and again.

And that’s what we can do. As Ebenezer Scrooge said at the conclusion of A Christmas Carol, “I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.” Like the shepherds, we can encounter the great joy of Christmas, but we can also let it shape our lives by treasuring it up in our hearts like Mary. Then, each day throughout the whole year, we can tell everyone about it and go about glorifying and praising God for all the things we have seen and heard. Merry Christmas. Amen!